Miles, fired at LSU last month, has hired Trace Armstrong to an agency team that still includes longtime agent George Bass, Miles told The Advocate during a brief phone interview Friday.

Armstrong, a former Pro Bowl defensive end and first-round NFL draft pick, is one of the more powerful sports agents in the profession. He represents Ohio State's Urban Meyer, Notre Dame's Brian Kelly, Houston’s Tom Herman and Penn State's James Franklin.

Miles’ decision to expand his agency team is a sign he's serious about coaching again. He’s ramping up his search for employment with one of the most proven, experienced agents around.

"I'm fighting like heck," he told The Advocate on Friday, "trying to win a championship at another place."

Armstrong will soon begin working for Athletes First, a sports agency representing a host of NFL stars. He previously worked for Creative Artists Agency, where he worked closely with the man known to be the sport’s most successful agent, Jimmy Sexton.

"I just think we're talking about broader coverage, a nation to represent," Miles said about the hiring of Armstrong. "I enjoy the fact we use guys to do similar things and different things."

Miles must at least attempt to find a new coaching job, a provision in a buyout clause that will pay about $9.6 million over the next six years — more than $133,000 per paycheck. He is slated to receive his first buyout check Monday, according to language in his contract. He'll get checks on the last day of each month.

The buyout is mitigated if he finds a new job. The payments would be offset against his new salary.

Miles is on the hunt for a new job after his 11-plus-year reign at LSU ended Sept. 25 with an unceremonious firing following the team’s 2-2 start.

In three appearances with national media members over the past month, Miles insisted that he wants to coach again. In his most recent public interview Oct. 5, the soon-to-be 63-year-old told Colin Cowherd that he’d coach for “the right opportunity, right school, right place.”

“You betcha,” Miles said. “I don’t play golf. I’m not a fisherman. My wife is already thrilled with me around the house: ‘You don’t need to organize that; don’t need to organize this. Get out of the house!' ”

Miles finished with a record of 114-34 and a winning percentage of 77.0 percent, tops among LSU coaches since the school joined the Southeastern Conference in 1933. He was 62-28 in SEC games, a winning percentage of 68.9 percent, and led the Tigers to a bowl game in each of his 11 full seasons.

Major college football coaching searches are weeks-long endeavors complete with snooping rep…

His squads started to trend downward over the past three years. In Miles' final 22 games against major conference foes, the Tigers were 12-10, and their offenses recently dragged them down, specifically the passing game.

After this year's season-opening loss to Wisconsin, LSU's passing offense was one of the worst in college football dating to the 2013 season. It averaged about 170 yards per game through the air. That was lower than all but two "Power Five" conference teams (Boston College and Georgia Tech).

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